November 24, 2013

Queer Feminist Caucus India is hosting 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence online. This year’s theme is militarism, and we are especially focusing on AFSPA and gender violence. We are: 1. Tweeting – We’ll be hosting two tweetathons from our Twitter handle @InQueer on Nov 1 and Nov 7, from 9 pm IST onwards. [...]

July 27, 2013

Being pregnant comes with its advantages. One of these is that a healthy amount of pampering is expected and endured. Pregnant women can put their feet up more than usual, or at least that’s how it should be, how we want it to be. Because for most of us, this is supposed to be (at [...]

July 11, 2013

I imagine every woman does this. Every time she enters a subway station, a bus or a bus-stop, a cab alone or with children, she looks around almost on autopilot; she is infinitely and finitely aware of her surroundings, the people around her, the density of the crowd she’s in; the instinctive need to protect [...]

July 05, 2013

(This is the fourth of a series of posts written from the experiences at CREA of implementing a program called “Count Me IN! It’s My Body: Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Young Girls through Sports”. The first, second, and third posts are available here. CREA is [...]

March 08, 2013

There was a moment in Kajubai’s life when she gave her breath to a newborn baby who had stopped breathing. The baby started breathing again. This is the moment she remembers when she looks back at 18 years of work as a Community Health Worker (CHW) for non-profit organisation SEARCH. Besides giving breath to breath-stopped [...]

June 27, 2012

Cipro And Urinary Tract Infection, As Barack Obama and Mitt Romney battle over acquiring the votes of US women, there have been repeated news reports about a "reverse gender gap." This term refers to the growing rise of women out-earning their male spouses. During the late 80s, when the US government began tracking comparative earnings within couples, 23% of working wives' salaries exceeded those of their husbands. The number is now close to 40%. In addition the wage gap has narrowed over the past decade: in 1999 women earned 77 cents to every man's dollar, and now women earn 81 cents, 250mg Cipro And Urinary Tract Infection. While diminishing barriers to women's active participation in the workplace and a smaller wage gap do herald greater prestige, earnings, power and opportunity for women, it is wise to hold the applause. (And to the student who wanted to know if the women's movement is now questioning its need to exist, given this new information, I've got a two letter answer for you: n-o.)

While it is true that women have positioned themselves well by obtaining more degrees than men, women have principally made gains in healthcare and education, areas in which they have traditionally excelled, Cipro And Urinary Tract Infection. In fact, 10mg Cipro And Urinary Tract Infection, in a table of 500 categorized positions, one can find a large percentage of women in only 120 of them, showing that there is a long road to walk before celebrating.

Why is the wage gap decreasing. Not because the old boys' network is eroding, nor because preconceptions about women's lack of ambition are falling away, nor because on-site childcare or family-friendly corporate policies have convinced women that a satisfactory work/family balance is within reach, 20mg Cipro And Urinary Tract Infection. Instead, the wage gap is decreasing because of the recession. Cipro And Urinary Tract Infection, The economic shrinkage has had a deleterious effect on two male dominated industries: construction and manufacturing. As Liza Mundy states in her book The Richer Sex: How the New Majority of Female Breadwinners is Transforming Sex, Love and Family, working class men have suffered the most from the failing economy. Cipro And Urinary Tract Infection australia, For instance, men are now finding far fewer well-paid manufacturing jobs.

As a resident of Wyoming, the U.S. state with the worst pay gap in the nation, 71 cents (similar to the national gap in 1988), I am keenly aware that occupational segregation is the leading factor in pay differentials between men and women, Cipro And Urinary Tract Infection us. It takes only a high school degree, a willingness to work outside and get dirty, and some physical strength to obtain some of the best paying jobs in the state, working for the oil, natural gas and coal companies, Cipro And Urinary Tract Infection. Instead women working for these companies are nearly always found inside, behind desks, earning far less than the other workers. Local politicians frequently frame this as a choice, with comments along the lines of "Well, Cipro And Urinary Tract Infection india, would your daughter want to be in charge of that heavy equipment?" This line of thinking justifies inaction. As Representative Cathy Connolly retorts, "What about investing in apprenticeship programs for young women" so that they have a chance to realize that they could thrive in this environment. In a Wyoming PBS Chronicles television program, Gender Wage Gap, Liz Nelson, a young female yard boss of an auto recycling yard suggests that her friends are too easily scared off - the nature of this work "is really not that hard." On this same program, 250mg Cipro And Urinary Tract Infection, a female head of a construction company, Kerry Anderson of Greybull, Wyoming, notes that some people refuse to allow her company to even bid for a job. Cipro And Urinary Tract Infection, She is deprived of a chance to compete. Of course, 750mg Cipro And Urinary Tract Infection, gender is not the sole influence in such cases. From her perspective, receiving business often depends on "where you are on Sunday mornings," that is, on a specific Church affiliation, "and whether you are originally from Wyoming," although only 60% of the state's residents can trace their roots to this location, Cipro And Urinary Tract Infection coupon.

Voices such as these should certainly cause us to be wary about celebrating a "reverse gender gap." Indeed, I wanted to laugh at the recent Reach Advisory study of major U.S. cities, which shows that single childless women under 30 are making an average of 8% more money than their male same-age peers. So (gasp), 20mg Cipro And Urinary Tract Infection, women in their 20s without major household chores, partnerships to cultivate, and children to oversee are working extra hard, especially knowing that their time will likely be taken over by many of these activities when they are in their 30s. That is hardly news.

June 07, 2012

When you hear the phrase Indian feministWhat Does Cialis Look Like, , who immediately comes to mind. Recently blogger Battameez posted this question and surmised that Deepa Mehta, Arundhati Roy and Gayatri Spivak would lead this list. To that one must surely add Vandana Shiva, Vina Mazumdar, 100mg What Does Cialis Look Like, Urvashi Butalia and many others; happily the list is extremely long.

For me personally the words Indian feminist call up the warm and energetic smile of Sandhya Puchalapalli, a pioneer in the field of ending son preference. You likely don’t know that name—but you should. Sandhya lives in the 350,000+ town of Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, and is the Founder and Director of Aarti Home. Since 1992 she has not only provided a loving home for abandoned children (who are mainly girls) but has built a high-quality school for the residents and 125 additional children from nearby slums, What Does Cialis Look Like. That in itself did not satisfy her, however, What Does Cialis Look Like mexico, and along the way she also set aside part of the school and made a village women’s textile training center. The result is a unique life-based approach to the problem of girl devaluation, a promising road ahead to restoring gender balance. (If you are new to the topic of female foeticide and India’s 2011 child sex ratio of 1000 males to 914 females, here are some starting points: Tulsi Patel’s edited collection Sex-Selective Abortion in India and Mara Hvistendahl’s Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys over Girls and the Consequences of a World Full of Men.)

A girl is too often seen by struggling families as an expense and a liability, What Does Cialis Look Like japan, a child who needs a dowry 2x the family’s yearly income, and whose energies will only benefit her future husband’s family. Yet in the drought-prone and dowry-practicing region of Andhra Pradesh, Aarti Home is helping change that perception. “More shelters and schools will not stop mothers from abandoning their girl children,” says Sandhya, What Does Cialis Look Like uk. What Does Cialis Look Like, “I noticed that people were pointing to our girls, and saying, ‘Those are the lucky ones.’ It should not be luck to be a valued child.” Sandhya and her team searched for a way to demonstrate the gifts of girls, and create multi-generational mindset change. In Sandhya’s words, “Women are not independent. If they were, why should a mother abandon a girl child or a mother-in-law instigate a dowry death. 200mg What Does Cialis Look Like, To transform women from being partners in crime to agents of change, what is needed is economic and emotional independence.”

To that end, Aarti Home has trained over 5,000 non-literate village women in income-making skills such as embroidery, tailoring, design and block printing, What Does Cialis Look Like canada. This assures they have income-making skills. A fair trade cooperative has been established and Aarti Home now employees thirty women, What Does Cialis Look Like. Each success story helps the surrounding community actively believe that women are learners and earners. It is powerful to see an abandoned child transformed into a confident software professional and a submissive daughter-in-law refuse to get rid of her child and continue to bring in needed family income. Skeptics thereby observe what should be obvious to all: women succeed through talent, 500mg What Does Cialis Look Like, discipline, training and vision.

After learning about the Home through Ashok Prasad’s BBC documentary India’s Missing Girls, I volunteered there in January of 2009 and then had several long stays there, twice with groups of US University students. What Does Cialis Look Like, Naturally, no short blog entry can do justice to all of Aarti Home’s initiatives or to PV Sandhya herself. However, What Does Cialis Look Like ebay, testaments to her being a second mother and inspiring feminist to many people (including the 70+ volunteers who over the years have come from all over the world) are flowing onto social media pages, as she is currently being considered for an Impact Award by the Global Women’s Leadership Network (Please consider showing your support. Voting just takes a few seconds athttp://www.gwln-contest.strutta.com/entry/265634 ).

Sandhya wears peacefulness like a second skin. 1000mg What Does Cialis Look Like, She radiates love. But she also has the determination and strength of a lion, What Does Cialis Look Like. Convinced that the organization can never do enough, as she enters into her sixth decade of life, she is constantly moving and seeking new ideas, seemingly effortlessly collecting friends and allies in every sphere. Sandhya has unyielding faith in human beings to create the society they desire, What Does Cialis Look Like usa. The home compels witnesses to focus on finding and creating joy – and celebrating it. As one of my visiting students concluded, “Sandhya Puchalapalli has created a place to gain skills to empower yourself, no matter your circumstances. I will always think back to Aarti Home as embodying the potential of the human heart.”

May 26, 2012

A magazineRetin A Cream Vs Gel, recently published a version of the following piece I wrote, and I wanted to share the unedited original here.

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Following the repeal of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code by the Delhi High Court on 2 July 2009 - in effect decriminalising sexual acts between consenting adults, irrespective of their genders - we are witnessing the beginning of what it means for India’s LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) community to be able to live their lives and sexual identities outside of the closet. Alongside liberation rights, continuing struggles for respect, sexual health and an end to discrimination, the face of LGBTQ India is witnessing the start of a very specific market trajectory, similar to those in developed countries where queer rights movements have been established over a longer period of time. With a growing number of consumer products and services including designer stores, travel boutiques, publishing houses and clothing lines, 750mg Retin A Cream Vs Gel, the ‘pink economy’ – both nationally and internationally – is predicated on the idea that gay people, and in particular gay men, have larger disposable incomes to spend on specifically tailored goods and services. It is also argued (often rightly) by many that a growing pink-economy invariably leads to a greater visibility of the LGBTQ population, which is particularly pertinent in countries like India where the movement is at a relatively-speaking nascent stage, Retin A Cream Vs Gel. However, the wide economic and gender disparities within the country result in only a small percentage of the gay population having the power and freedom to spend what advertisers have termed the ‘pink rupee’ – coined from Britain’s ‘pink pound’ and America’s ‘pink dollar’ – causing some to question to what extent the pink-market is actually framed within and working in tandem with the ground-realities of queer India.

Both the national and global roots of what has now come to be called the pink economy lie in gay male magazines –today two of the most popular in India are Bombay Dost and The Pink Pages – which historically began with the desire to connect queer activists and publicise liberation initiatives. Today however, diverse companies targeting queer consumers in India are sprouting up in at least a few urban areas, and span various markets in themselves. Often arising from the need for spaces for LGBTQ people to meet and interact safely, queer parties are no longer hosted behind entirely closed doors (and private homes). From Kolkata-based Pink PartyRetin A Cream Vs Gel, , which hosts everything from club nights in hotels to picnics and movie screenings, to Gay Bombay, which organises queer events at popular nightclubs in the city, queer parties serve as both business model and social initiative.The growing demand for queer social spaces has also led establishments such as Delhi-based Pegs n Pints and Mumbai’s Banana Bar to organise regular nights for their LGBTQ patrons. However, it’s not only nightlife that’s singing successes for this nascent economy – retail stores explicitly catering to the queer community are slowly but surely establishing themselves in the more forward-thinking areas of cities like Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata. The years following the 377 judgement have also witnessed a rise in queer cinema, with mainstream gay films including Dostana (heavily-criticised by members of the queer community for its faux homosexuality, 1000mg Retin A Cream Vs Gel, but nonetheless bringing LGBTQ issues to the fore) and Dunno Y…Na Jaane Kyun, as well as film festivals bringing together both mainstream and underground queer cinema from across India and the world. It is difficult to estimate the scale of the pink economy within the country, given that the scattered businesses and initiatives are yet to be collated into a comprehensive survey. However, attempts to do so will have to first question what exactly it is that makes a business ‘pink’. Is it one that targets solely LGBTQ individuals as its consumers, Retin A Cream Vs Gel. One that includes advertising or products that may appeal to queer customers alongside their wider consumer base. Or one that provides a service that does not discriminate against sexual minorities. With these shades of rainbow-grey in mind, any exploration of India’s pink economy must consistently question the terms under which this emerging market is being defined, and most of all, who is doing the defining.

Walking through Bandra’s tiny, intertwined streets, stores like D’Kloset – a gay multi-designer store and Azaad Bazaar– India’s first official queer store (now temporarily closed) selling mugs, Retin A Cream Vs Gel india, t-shirts, and out, proud and loud items, seem to almost seamlessly blend into the area’s urban landscape of boutique labels and frozen yoghurt outlets. Retin A Cream Vs Gel, However, the very presence of these explicitly queer stores is testimony to the struggles of the LGBTQ community in Mumbai city, and their survival has depended on the ability of the community to rally against attacks of homophobia and prejudice they have regularly had to face. In fact, the sense of closeness and responsibility that queer business owners feel towards the wider movement is extremely prevalent across Indian metropolises (such markets not yet being established in smaller towns, much less in rural areas). Azaad Bazaar is fondly remembered by members of Mumbai’s queer community as not simply a shopping destination, but an important refuge for gay or questioning individuals to come together and meet in a truly safe and welcoming space. Blogger Tappy Tippy writes, ‘They stock my favourite fix of erotica compilations… heart-shaped rose soaps, Italian Nescafe, funky headgear for a perfect theme party… I’ve come in to find common friends, get advice… [Customers got] support from everyone as they came out to their families and dealt with the aftermath within [Azaad Bazaar’s] walls.’ This integration between movement and market can be found even in some of the most high-end pink businesses. Sanjay Malhotra, founder of Indjapink – a travel boutique advertising itself as ‘exceptional experiences for men only’ – describes how educating people remains the most important aspect of catering to the gay traveller. ‘In every hotel we use and provide for a guest, I’ve met the owners, spoken to their staff – their butlers, their receptionists, everyone – I’ve made them understand what it is to be a gay man or a lesbian woman, Retin A Cream Vs Gel. They are gay-friendly in the true sense of the word, Retin A Cream Vs Gel australia, because we’re not just selling an idea as gay-friendly - we speak to them, we make them understand... It’s very important in today’s times to change mindsets, because ignorance cannot be a reason for a poor or offensive service anymore.’ In this manner, even companies predicating their success on the willingness of the upper-class gay man to shell out large amounts of money on tailored holidays, simultaneously work to cultivate wider attitudes of tolerance and sensitivity. However, with only an extremely small percentage of the queer population being able to access such holiday experiences, it is pertinent to ask just how far and wide the effects of this awareness raising are scattering their seeds.

Writing in the International Socialist Journal, Peter Morgan states, ‘Now to be gay or lesbian is not simply a statement of sexuality but a statement of lifestyle: it defines what clothes you wear, what magazines you read, what furniture you have, or what vodka you drink.’ As gay identities across the globe increasingly become defined by those who can afford to participate in the growing culture of pink-consumerism, Retin A Cream Vs Gel usa, the class distinctions within the LGBTQ movement deepen, where those with money to spend increasingly become the face of what is in reality a much larger and diverse community than those who comprise a country’s elite. As the face of gay India starts to take on the polarities of HijrasRetin A Cream Vs Gel, and HIV on one end of the spectrum and arty, well-dressed male fashion designers on the other, those who also critically participated in the struggle towards decriminalisation - working-class people and lesbian women with ties to the feminist movement - are often left out of the picture, creating profound class and gender divides in both perceptions and lived-experiences of what it means to be a part of queer India.

Across the globe, the pink-economy’s advertisers, entrepreneurs and business people view gay men as their primary consumers. This market model is based on certain ‘attributes’ of homosexual men - their inability (or lack of desire) to form a conventional family unit; a lack of pressure vis a vis bringing up children that lesbian or bisexual women still face (though to a far lesser extent than heterosexual women); and a wider economic inequality that continues to perpetuate higher pay for men across all sectors – irrespective of sexual orientation - leaving them with greater disposable incomes. Even putting on hold the assumptions that gay men do not want to have families and that those with extra money are rushing out in hordes to purchase expensive tailored products, the question still remains – at a time when markets and advertisers are aggressively courting women in every facet of their lives, why do lesbian and bisexual women remain largely outside the focus of pink companies. Shobhna S. Kumar - founder of Queer Ink, an online store for queer literature and publishing, which runs book clubs, workshops, and a crisis helpline - describes how much of this has to do with the largely protected and family-based lives that many Indian women are constrained within, Retin A Cream Vs Gel. ‘The issue is, if you buy a book from us, where would you keep it at home. Men tend to travel more, but women stay back at home. Even if we choose not to marry, we’re often stuck at home with our parents or older siblings.’ Without a room (or even cupboard with a lock and key) of one’s own, Retin A Cream Vs Gel ebay, the vibrant mugs, t-shirts and clothes – forget sex toys and sex manuals, banned in a country where female sexual pleasure itself is a crime – for sale to the queer community have no place in the home of the queer woman, whose daily struggle too often comprises the efforts she must make to hide her sexual orientation from those around her.

The marketisation of the LGBTQ movement has wrought a transition from a sexual identity to a lifestyle choice, which closely mirrors the ways in which market trends have commodified various social movements over the last few decades. Retin A Cream Vs Gel, For example, advertisers and companies have reworked the principles of feminism, transforming a once-class conscious movement into the (purchasing) power to buy a vibrator and a designer pant-suit. In similar ways, the pink economy in its full-fledged Western avatar heralds the availability of gay pride- over-the-counter. For those who can afford it, of course. Furthermore, from Oscar Wilde’s dandies to leading homosexual fashion designers featured in magazines to stock gay characters on television shows, there has been a tendency to portray gay men as actors or artists; personas of wealth and flamboyance. Coupled with the growth of an economy whose aim is not only to respond to, but create, 50mg Retin A Cream Vs Gel, such clientele, an international public perception is formed wherein ordinary (working-class) people simply cannot be gay. With 10% of the male population and 6% of the female population worldwide estimated to be homosexual, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning – suggesting, of course, that the real closeted figures are much higher – the myth of an exclusively wealthy queer community is just that: a myth, Retin A Cream Vs Gel. Discussing the ways in which the markets courting the queer community are developing within India, Shobhna talks about the question of who is – and is not – counted as having access to pink rupees. ‘The whole queer movement arose out of grassroots level activists – who still go to the police to get permissions, are visible on the road marching…So they also make up a power-base in terms of your everyday retail consumer. But we don’t see them as a [pink] retail consumer, because they don’t buy books, because they don’t go on holiday. But they go to your kirana store and buy rice and daal to support their families. Retin A Cream Vs Gel, So yes, the BPO-working, English-speaking gay guy comes to my shop to buy books, and is able to spend three thousand – so is that then the qualification to be part of the pink rupee?’ In this sense, the pink rupee is defined not by who is doing the spending, but is crucially linked to what is being bought. The purchasing power held by those members of the queer community who cannot afford to participate in urban, affluent retail markets means that the rupees they hold, despite their sexual orientations and the fact that they are indeed spending, will never turn pink.

Another example of the narrow definitions of what it means to be part of the pink economy can be found in the purchasing trends of the transgender community. Often largely excluded from enterprises such as retail stores and designer labels – despite there presumably being a potential market for drag or trans fashion – there is a tendency to see trans people as falling outside the realm of the pink market. However, 10mg Retin A Cream Vs Gel, as gay journalist Vikram Doctor points out, the services being purchased nearly exclusively by the transgender community are medical ones. ‘Yes, there is a market for doctors who do sexual reassignment surgery, and in that sense there is a [pink] market for trans people, and it’s a very defining market.’ However, given the largely unglamorous and taboo nature of this business, it is not profitable for those who are defining the pink economy – primarily those within the advertising industry – to see the medical services essential to much of the transgender population as a pink business, Retin A Cream Vs Gel. Doctor goes on to question whether the current forays down which pink businesses are travelling are truly responding to the needs of India’s queer communities. Stressing the importance of not homogenising the queer or even simply gay population into an amorphous group who, due to their sexual orientation or gender, invariably enjoy, purchase and desire the same things, Doctor states, ‘There are lots of gay men who are fairly openly out, and who’ve thought, “There must be lots of other gay men like us who we can do things for.” They see the gay community through the prism of themselves, but in fact the queer community is much more diverse.’ He goes on to talk about what are the most keenly desired but inaccessible products: those related directly to sex. ‘I mean gay saunas, gay escort services and things like that, because there is definitely a market for sex-related services. Retin A Cream Vs Gel paypal, But there is no prospect of offering those services legally.’ In this way, critics of the pink economy question just what role these products, enterprises and initiatives have to play in the individual and collective lives of queer Indians, and to what extent they are a reflection of the needs of queer India. Retin A Cream Vs Gel, However, even those who are conscious of the potentially detrimental aspects of the marketisation of the movement say it may be too early to speak of its effects. Soraya - a Mumbai-based feminist and queer activist says, ‘Right now, the pink rupee hasn’t reached the level where it’s anywhere close to a kind of pink economy, so I don’t think that there are any cogent messages about its nature or effects we can glean. It’s still in its fledgling stages.’ While recognising the ways in which pink businesses tend to target the affluent, Soraya talks about the need to differentiate between companies that are helpful versus exploitative for the movement. ‘Right now, it’s nice that there are some queer businesses out there who are participating in the movement, as compared to bigger corporate companies who will target money from queer people without thinking about the overall community. This has happened a lot abroad.’ However, in India, it simply is just too soon to tell. As the relatively new pink market continues to foster its ties to at least some strata of the wider movement, it is indeed difficult to draw conclusions as to the ways in which this economy will develop in the future, Retin A Cream Vs Gel. If the parallel developments in the West are indicators of what is to come, Retin A Cream Vs Gel coupon, as India’s queer movements gain strength and visibility, corresponding market forces will either support or encroach upon the successes of liberation. Whether or not the pink economy’s current commitment to the cause will become diluted in a balance sheet of profit and loss is difficult to state with certainty. However, for those with little faith in the established trajectories of the market, the predictions are not very optimistic.

August 19, 2011

PLENTY OF FEMINIST WRITINGLas Vegas Tetracycline, is churned out by people actively engaged in an area of expertise/field of work. As a therapist, educator and social worker, I have always had plenty to say, a stand to take and debates to relish. (Note: I am NOT saying working folks are the only ones with opinions of value!) But for the past 6 months, 50mg Las Vegas Tetracycline, I was none of these. I wasn’t even (hushed whisper) a working woman. I was, to put it plainly, a hausfrau, and this is an account of my experience.

It happened the usual way, Las Vegas Tetracycline. Marriage, 750mg Las Vegas Tetracycline, partner’s transfer and move abroad. We were going to live in the United States, a country I was very familiar with, had lived in before and was acclimatized to. I knew it was only a matter of time before I re-entered the workforce. 250mg Las Vegas Tetracycline, Having worked non-stop—often two jobs/businesses simultaneously—for the past decade, I was suddenly faced with swathes of time and the freedom to stare into space if I so chose. Las Vegas Tetracycline, As a part of me watched from the sidelines, the job-juggling girl I once knew threw herself headlong into home decoration, baking and the maintenance of an immaculate home.

I will come right out and say it. I loved every minute. No miserable Mondays, time to explore my nesting side and the incredible luxury of fussing over cushions and bed linen just because I could. From whipping up batches of brownies to color-coordinating the tableware, 20mg Las Vegas Tetracycline, running errands at a leisurely pace and greeting my spouse with an elaborate, freshly-cooked meal each evening, I did all the things women have sought to break free from in decades past. And yet, there I was, a self-confessed feminist, trying to shush her cognitive dissonance by convincing herself it was all a temporary romp in the park, Las Vegas Tetracycline.

The first signs of discomfort arose when I had to fill in forms asking me what I did for a living. Homemaker, Las Vegas Tetracycline craiglist, I’d write, a trifle defiantly, not too pleased with my answer. I was the flexi-time lady, the on-call chauffeur, the go-shopping-at-a-whim buddy, the One Who Did Nothing, Las Vegas Tetracycline india. And yet I know full well, from my own experience and that of the women in my family, the solid work it takes to run a well-maintained, smoothly-functioning home. Las Vegas Tetracycline, Upkeep is akin to a garden—unless you’re constantly weeding, it’s going to overwhelm you. Then what was it, 150mg Las Vegas Tetracycline, that feeling, the twinge I felt spending money not earned by me, the knowledge that I could enjoy this freedom because my partner worked to put bread on the table.

I put it down to upbringing, role models and childhood narratives. To years of seeing a working mother and grandmother, of being goaded toward financial independence by my stay-at-home grandmother, 100mg Las Vegas Tetracycline, of growing up hearing that marriage could wait, I needed to carve out a career first, of being firmly told that “sitting home” was not why I was educated and that with my two Master’s degrees I should jolly well step out and make myself useful to the world.

Should I be hating this, would it be terrible if this state of affairs were to go on forever, Las Vegas Tetracycline usa, I’d ask myself, a trifle alarmed at how much I was enjoying the change of pace. I felt no boredom, I always had tasks to accomplish, and nothing gave me greater pleasure than snatching some hours of reading time on the couch, with nowhere to go unless I wanted to. Perhaps I reveled in it because I knew it was a temporary situation. It is unthinkable to me that I remain unemployed, even as I acknowledge that there is absolutely nothing “wrong” with the idea, Las Vegas Tetracycline. I have always respected the work of homemakers, now even more so, 40mg Las Vegas Tetracycline. But clearly some part of me still believes that those working outside the home are worthier.

So as I get back to work next week and my cognitive dissonance fades away, to be replaced with Monday morning blues, rush hour traffic and a less-than-tidy home, I hope I can hunker down and stare my biases in the face, so the next time I switch roles, I am freer of labels and sexist baggage and can embrace another aspect of myself more willingly.

June 05, 2011

Breast Diflucan Feeding, A FEW MONTHS AGO, I was outraged by the French reaction to the Roman Polanski case. I am similarly outraged with the French reaction to Dominique Strauss-Kahn or DSK. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the powerful International Monetary Fund, is accused of sexually assaulting a housekeeping staff in the posh Sofitel hotel in Manhattan. 30mg Breast Diflucan Feeding, The charges against DSK are extremely serious and if convicted he could face up to 25 years in prison. He has maintained his innocence and a recent poll indicates that 57% of the French public believe he has been framed. What further complicates this story is the fact that a few months ago DSK allegedly claimed that since he is running for French presidency, there will be attempts to discredit him. More specifically, he claimed that anyone could be paid 500,000 Euros to falsely accuse him of rape in a parking lot, Breast Diflucan Feeding. He also said the fact that he is Jewish might work against him, 10mg Breast Diflucan Feeding, against the backdrop of covert and sometimes overt anti-Semitism in Europe.

Without getting into the finer details of the case, newspaper reports seem to suggest that the victim is of West African origin, Breast Diflucan Feeding craiglist, probably from Guinea, who was forced to flee her country under difficult circumstances. She is a single mother of a 15-year-old girl and had been working in Sofitel for the past two years. She was attacked by DSK when she went to clean his room on Saturday. She tried to fight him and run away but was dragged back from the hallway, held back against her will and assaulted multiple times, Breast Diflucan Feeding overseas. Breast Diflucan Feeding, She called her brother up within an hour of being attacked who advised her to report it to the police. The New York Special Victims Unit, famous for handling sex crimes apprehended DSK on a flight to Germany. DSK was refused bail because the judge decided that he presented a significant flight risk and has been remanded to custody. Breast Diflucan Feeding canada, The IMF meanwhile has continued with its work including funding the bail-outs of Portugal and Greece. It should be noted that there has been no pressure from within IMF on DSK (yet) to resign from his position as the chief. His deputy has stepped in for him and the organization seems to be behaving as if it is business as usual, Breast Diflucan Feeding. The day after the newspapers reported his alleged crime, a young French journalist came forward saying that he had similarly tried to rape her in 2007 but she was dissuaded from reporting this by her mother, a prominent French politician of the same party as DSK, Breast Diflucan Feeding mexico. Psychologists agree that men who engage in sexually predatory behaviour are unlikely to stop with a single victim. Also given DSK’s age (he is 62) it is highly unlikely that if indeed he is guilty, this is his first crime. 1000mg Breast Diflucan Feeding, Sexual harassment and rape is highly under-reported in the west; for eg in the UK, only 7% of rape cases are convicted. Breast Diflucan Feeding, I can’t help but think that this case perfectly symbolises Europe and by extension IMF’s relationship with the developing countries given that the alleged perpetrator of this crime is firstly, the head of a very powerful financial organization, a European politician/economist/intellectual, while the victim is a woman, of African origin, a single mother and a working class person. The accused is a very powerful man, not just because he is the head of the IMF but because he is highly regarded in his own country, to the extent that he planned to contest for the French Presidency next year, 50mg Breast Diflucan Feeding. The only person who matters in France who has taken a stand against DSK is the leader of the far-right party, National Front Marine Le Pen. However she is a woman who is known for her extreme French nationalism, Breast Diflucan Feeding uk, opposition to the veil and anti-immigrant and anti-immigration sentiments.

The heady mix of domestic politics, the sexual nature of the crime and DSK’s reputation as a ‘serial seducer’ in France and the flexibility of French morals when it comes to crimes committed by ‘intellectuals’ will make it difficult for the victim to get justice. In France, DSK is being seen as a victim of the punitive and piratical American justice system and I am confident that his lawyers will leave no stone unturned to establish that the act was consensual or in failing that, tarnish the victim’s reputation to bias the jury, Breast Diflucan Feeding. Should DSK be treated any worse or better because of his position. I think not, Breast Diflucan Feeding usa. If his crime were to be proved, he should receive the same treatment as any other rapist. Will this happen. Only time can tell.